[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/np_zelda_3468.png]]A serial comic for ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' magazine by the acclaimed manga author ShotaroIshinomori, and later collected in graphic novel form, this told an alternate version of the events from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast.'' Despite the involvement of UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese talent, it was produced for a North American audience, and is not considered to be a {{Manga}}.

See also ''Manga/TheLegendOfZelda'' manga, which includes other adaptations of ''A Link to the Past''; and ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda'' comics by Valiant, which were also made specifically for an American audience. For the Mario Bros. comic that ran concurrently with this one, see ''ComicBook/SuperMarioAdventures''.

-----!!Tropes:* AdaptationalBadass: Link's Uncle is more of a badass in this adaptation. Instead of being overrun and killed in the very first room of the dungeon, he is struck down by no less than Agahnim himself.* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Link fighting the Trinexx. "This is one schizoid serpent!"* AlienGeometries: The Ice Palace is featured in the comic, except it is called the Ice Tower and [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/File:Tower_of_Ice_%28comic%29.png spans both sides of a canyon]].** Ganon's Tower is replaced by a [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/thumb/0/0e/Ganon%27s_Tower_%28comic%29.png/378px-Ganon%27s_Tower_%28comic%29.png creepy, mace-like structure in space]].* AlwaysNight: Truth in advertising, this Dark World.* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Epheremelda seems to have a crush on Link, and blows her stack whenever he ignores her to look for Zelda.* AncestralWeapon: Sahashrala reveals to Link that he is the son of Hyrilian knights. This puts him in the running to wield the Master Sword, like Roam.* AscendedExtra: Sahasrahla, his wife, and the boy who knew his location are given considerably larger roles here than in the actual game.* AttackItsWeakpoint: When tangling with one of Agahnim's soldiers, Link zips around him and holds him at swordpoint, demanding to be taken to the Princess. His sword accidentally stabs through a convenient hole in the soldier's armor ("[[BigWhat What?]]"), causing him to explode into light and leaves his armor [[NoBodyLeftBehind clattering to the floor]].** Link can't crack the Lanmola's metal hide. But the soft, furry underbelly will do nicely.* BadMoonRising: Glimpsed at throughout the tale, and sporting a skull face in the Dark World. In fact, the only tangible transition to the Dark World (apart from the wall collapsing around Link) is the smoke billowing from Agahnim's corpse to form the skull above.* BadassInDistress: Link ends up getting thrashed by a Wizzrobe, requiring Zora to rescue him.* BittersweetEnding: In the end, Link saves the day, kills Ganon and wins Zelda's heart... [[spoiler:but they can never be together because he has to guard the Triforce forever, all alone]].* BlessedWithSuck & LoveHurts: The comic adaptation has one of the most downbeat endings ever found in the ''Zelda'' universe: Zelda laments that her [[PsychicLink psychic bond]] with Link makes [[spoiler:their separation]] physically painful, and this will likely continue until both of their deaths.* BloodlessCarnage: Agahnim cuts down Link's uncle with a [[LaserBlade swath of lightning]] from his sword, leaving no wound. Even his tunic is intact.* BridalCarry: After a whirlpool engulfs both Vitreous and the Wizzrobe, Zora appears from beneath to rescue Link.* CanonForeigner: The boy, Roam the archer, and Epheremelda the fairy.* ChangedMyMindKid: When Link disregards her suggestion not to go into the oasis, Epheremelda flips her wig and complains that Link never worries about her and that all he ever talks about is Zelda, then indignantly leaves. Moments before being eaten by Vitreous, Link is suddenly rescued by Zora, who explains that Epheremelda summoned him to help.* TheChosenOne: Link must undertake an arduous quest to find the Master Sword. One problem: The sword itself chooses its wielder, so there was a possibility that even if he survived his journey, the sword still wouldn't let him use it. Luckily, it does.* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: With no way to reach Ganon's floating castle, Roam goes a little nuts and surrenders to his eagle form. Back on the ground, Zelda says a prayer to the maidens, who magically float her and Link into the structure.** CombinedEnergyAttack: Zelda begins to ask for the aid of the maidens and fires an ordinary arrow from the crossbow, but as it approaches Ganon, the power of the maidens, Zelda, Link, and Roam, turn the arrow into the Silver Arrow, destroying Ganon.* CombatTentacles: Arrghus is reimagined as a bright red jellyfish with tentacles.* CommLinks: The first Maiden hands over the Comfork, a crystal tuning fork. Later, the Comfork begins to ring and Link sees an image of his friends back in Kakariko. At first, Sahasrahla disregards Link's voice [[ItsProbablyNothing as having been his imagination]], the others eventually realize that the Comfork allows them to speak with Link even though they are on opposite worlds.* CreepyGood & TheLancer: Roam may technically be on the side of the angels, but he is one creepy suspicious mamma-jamma.* CursedWithAwesome: Those trapped in the Dark World are cursed to become beasts without artifacts or HeroicWillpower. Roam, however, takes advantage of being able to become an eagle.* DamselOutOfDistress: Zelda assists Link in the battle with Ganon, firing the Silver Arrow to kill him. In some later games, Zelda fires Light Arrows to help Link in the same manner. When Zelda deals the final blow in the comic, she does so by aiming at a glowing wound Link carves across Ganon's chest to paralyze him; Ganondorf possesses a similar wound in ''Twilight Princess''.* TheDarkSide: The Dark World feeds on the more unpleasant emotions, threatening to turn Link into a beast a few times. The hotheaded Roam is even more susceptible.* DeadlyGaze: Agahnihm paralyzes Link by glaring at him, rendering him unable to stop him from transporting Zelda to the Dark World.* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Sahasrahla reveals that Link's parents were Knights of Hyrule who stumbled into the Dark World. After they disappeared, Link's uncle shielded him from court intrigue by keeping his lineage a secret.* DecoyDamsel: Link stumbles into an oasis from where Zelda is tied up with vines -- but she turns out to be a Wizzrobe [[FaceRevealingTurn in disguise]], who promptly ties up Link and conjures Vitreous from the swamp to devour him. This is similar to the ploy used by Blind the Thief in the SNES game.* DoNotTouchTheFunnelCloud: Link gets into a pickle in the desert.* DontThinkFeel: Zelda telepathically instructs Link to trust his "feelings" to guide him to her prison block.* DramaticThunder: The Sanctuary, [[EmpathicEnvironment foreshadowing]] Agahnim's entrance.* DressingAsTheEnemy: Zora grants Link the Zora's Mask to disguise himself and not look so conspicuous as he is sneaking around the Dark Palace. This is a nifty precursor to the actual Zora Mask first seen in ''Ocarina of Time.'' (Rather than an actual mask, Zora plucks off one of his own scales and slaps it on Link's mug.)* DynamicEntry: Roam plugging two of Trinexx's heads with arrows, just in time to save a hapless Link. May also qualify as a VillainousRescue.* EvilHand: On Death Mountain, Link sees a vision of his dead parents standing with his uncle. Link reaches for his mother's hand when she extends hers out to him, but Link's hand turns into a werewolf claw when it passes the portal's boundary.* EurekaMoment: The librarian gets the idea for a hot air balloon from the boy, who draws an analogy to his bubble bath.* EvilIsNotWellLit: The interior of Ganon's castle has absolutely no light at all; just a featureless black void crawling with Force Ghosts of defeated foes!* ExcaliburInTheRust: The last panel shows the Master Sword overgrown by foliage as it sleeps.* ExpositionFairy: In the Dark World, Link is accompanied by Epheremelda who offers him the lay of the land. This is before ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' introduced Navi as the first canon Fairy sidekick.* {{Expy}}: [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/a/ac/Roam.png Roam]] is based on [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cyb002_2097.jpg 002]] from Shotaro Ishinomori's earlier work ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'', whose pre-cyborg name was [[StealthPun Jet Link]].* FeedItABomb: Link defeats the Hinox by hurling [[HoistByHisOwnPetard one of his own bombs]] back at it, causing it to get lodged down its mouth. Whoops. After the Hinox explodes, the fairy appears next to an {{Ash Face}}d Link.* ForgotICouldntSwim: When the Water Palace begins to flood, the Taurus grabs onto a Hirox, gasping that he can't swim. The Taurus's armor ends up dragging them both underwater.* GiantSpider: The monster fought in the Tower of Hera is a giant tarantula as opposed to the Moldorm fought in the game. However, when the monster's ghost appears in Ganon's Tower, Link identifies it as Moldorm.* GivingTheSwordToANoob: Nobody in Kakariko takes Link very seriously. Even Sahashrala's wife finds it surprising that the pendant was entrusted to him.* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Molderm.* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The Pendant of Courage gives Link the jolt he needs to cut a stormtrooper in half. This sends the other mooks [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere wailing out of the temple]] in terror.* HeKnowsTooMuch: Following Sahasrala's direction, Link heads for the Library to study the Book of Mudora, only to find it has been set on fire by soldiers. The boy alerts Link that the Librarian is stuck inside.* HermitGuru: Sahasrahla lives '''in''' the Eastern Palace rather than just near it, and forks over the Pendant of Courage. In the game, Link must defeat the Armos Knights to claim the Pendant; this is mirrored in the comic by soldier mooks crashing the temple.* HumansAreUgly: Zora's initial observation of Link. "Uggh! You're an ugly little mannn..."* IResembleThatRemark: When Roam sniffs at Link's "immaturity," deriding all the crap he's been through, Link throws a tantrum. "I'll show [[IWillShowYouX YOU]] who's weak!"* IdiotHero: Link is portrayed as a complete dope in this story, but he gets the job done.* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: Roam reveals that he is seeking the Silver Arrow spoken of in the Book of Mudora, which prophesied that Ganon can only be defeated by a sacred arrow. Although he reveals to Link that he has yet to find it, Roam continues to search for the Silver Arrow to defeat Ganon with it and prove himself to be the legendary hero. However, when Link and Zelda arrive to Ganon's Tower, Roam returns and admits he has failed to find the Arrow. After [[spoiler:Roam dies saving Zelda]], the princess snatches up [[TakeUpMySword Roam's crossbow]] and takes aim at Ganon. As it whistles through the air, the power of the Maidens, Zelda, Link, and Roam, turn the arrow into the Silver Arrow.* LargeAndInCharge: Upon arrival in the Dark World, Link is confronted by three thieves and their "boss," a Hinox. They make trouble by questioning Link about a fairy they're hunting.* TheLoad: The Boy cheers Link on by pounding the head of one the statues that pour into the fountain. This triggers the Swamp Palace in the Dark World to get flooded, washing away the monsters ''and'' Link. "[[OhCrap Uh-oh.]]"** Subverted in that the flooding water helps him defeat the two enemies he was fighting and get him to a high hole in the wall.* LotusPosition: Sahasrahla when we first meet him.* LovedINotHonorMore / MarriedToTheJob: [[spoiler:Link grows distant after Ganon's defeat, dedicating his life to guarding the Triforce.]]* MouthyKid: The boy.* MirrorScare: Link and the fairy duo head out to the Swamp Palace but discover that it's completely dried up. Link calls to Sahasrahla for help and asks him to go to the Light World location of the Palace, where Sahasrahla and the boy find a fountain. The boy, excited to see Link in the pool of water, suddenly shouts at Link to look out for the Taurus right behind him.* MoodWhiplash: The comic has moments of slapstick interspersed with some genuine scares.* MrExposition: Several, with Sahashrala and the archetypical Old Man being most prominent.** In the Dark World, Link discovers a shrine where he can rest before going on. As Link begins to fall asleep, a nearby tree sprouts a face and begins to tell him the story of Ganon and the Triforce. The talking trees play a similar role in the game, while the gist of the tree's story appears in the ''LTTP'''s prologue.* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: In the rubble of the Dark Palace, a knight introduces himself as Roam and challenges Link for the right to wield the Master Sword.* NamelessNarrative: The boy from Kakariko doesn't have a canon name, and is known as "Sahasrala's friend."* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Is there anything the handy Master Sword ''can't'' do? In addition to its established powers (deflecting Agahnim's magic and paralyzing Ganon), it can channel Link's rage into energy, causing electric storms.* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Link tries whacking at the Lanmola with his sword, but its hide is too hard to cause any damage to it. However, after the Lanmola launches him in the air, he lands on top of the scorpion statue and retrieves the Pendant.-->"[[LampshadeHanging Nice job, ugly!]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Now you're playing with the Pendant of Power!]]"* NoBodyLeftBehind: This regularly happens with the boss monsters Link fights. Minor foes are either revealed as AnimatedArmor or blown to smithereens in an explosion.* NobodyHereButUsStatues: Inverted -- Link mistakes a Rocklops for a statue. "[[DontSneakUpOnMeLikeThat Don't scare me like that!]]"* NotQuiteFlight: When Link is about to pack off to the desert, the boy gives him a "bird" that Link can ride on -- actually a sort of hang-glider in the shape of wings woven by the Hylian Sages, replacing the Flute Boy's Bird from the video game.* OELManga: It was written in English first and translated to Japanese.* OldMaster: Sahashrala.* OminousFloatingCastle / SpikesOfVillainy: Ganon's Castle.* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The Master Sword. Only the hero of legend can pull it out. Guess who that is.* OrWasItADream: In his dream, Link falls asleep on Zelda's lap, complaining about his misshapen arm. When Link wakes up, he finds that someone has bandaged his arm, and he is actually standing in front of the Tower of Hera.* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Link periodically turns into one in the Dark World.* PGExplosives: Traditional ''Zelda'' bombs are replaced with pineapple grenades (dubbed "firecorn") in the comic.* PowerGlows: The Pendants.** To help expedite things, Link doesn't need the Book of Mudora to translate the glyphs himself. When Link reaches the Desert of Mystery, the book flies out of his hands and hovers over the Hylian script, casting a swath of light from its pages. This automatically unlocks the Pendant of Power.* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Agahnim's "I will make you taste fear like you have never known!"* TheProfessor: The Librarian.* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Played quite straight. Link is told he's destined to save Hyrule, and that's exactly what he does.* {{Pun}}: Link's first encounter with Agahnim doesn't go well; a bolt of lightning sends him bouncing headfirst into the stone ceiling, then landing squarely on the floor. "Maybe this will knock some heroic sense into me!"* PunnyName: Roam.* QuicksandSucks: Link, using the Book of Mudora in the Desert of Mystery, reveals a scorpion statue that has the Pendant of Power hang on it. Before Link can approach it, he sinks into the quicksand -- and resurfaces on top of a Lanmola. Eep!* TheRival: Roam.* ScarsAreForever: Zora apologizes that he thought Link was Roam, the knight who scarred his forehead* SecretKeeper: A Kakariko villager helps Link hide inside one of his hay bales, having no love for the new regime.* ShortCutsMakeLongDelays: Epheremelda doesn't buy into the idea that Zelda has suddenly warped from Turtle Rock to the swamplands, and recommends that they go find the map first. Link, blinded by his devotion, forges ahead and mounts of a successful rescue of...a Wizzrobe. Whoops.* SinisterGeometry: Ganon's Castle appears to defy the law of gravity.* SinisterSchnoz: Roam, a hint to his SuperMode as an eagle.* SlidingScaleOfAdaptationModification: A solid Type 3. The story hews close to the plot of the video game, with a few surprises: ** Agahnim and Ganon are explicitly shown to be different beings, communicating between worlds in one scene. (The Agahnim in Ganon's Castle, however, is just a {{glamour}} used by Ganon himself.)** Link cannot travel freely between worlds and is trapped in the Dark World once Agahnim transports him there. He maintains his form in the Dark World by controlling his emotions, whereas in the game the Moon Pearl is needed to keep human form.** The events of the Dark World are heavily abridged, and Link only saves two maidens before finding Zelda; though Link visits Misery Mire and the Ice Palace, no maidens are imprisoned there. ** The Wizzrobe impersonating Zelda is an obvious riff on Blind the Thief. Rather than revert to his true form in sunlight, he waits for Link to sidle up before doing a creepy FaceRevealingTurn.** The collection of items vital to the game's completion are either changed (the "Bird") or excised entirely, with only the Book of Mudora appearing in the same capacity.** Interestingly, the Eastern Temple more resembles the game's Great Pyramid. In exchange, Ganon's lair has been modified into an alien-looking orb.* SmokeOut: Agahnim vanishing into blue mist with Zelda in his clutches.* SssssnakeTalk: Zora.* [[spoiler:StarCrossedLovers]]: Link and Zelda in the epilogue.* {{Steampunk}}: The librarian comes up with the idea of building a hot air balloon to carry Link into Hyrule Castle. The balloon uses a ramshackle gadget to produce helium.* StuffBlowingUp: Pretty much every temple Link visits.* TakingTheBullet: Inside Ganon's Castle, the party is swarmed by ghosts of Link's past foes, with a specter of Agahnim leering dangerously at Zelda. [[spoiler:Roam quickly switches to eagle mode]] and charges at the illusion, electrocuting himself.* TalkingInYourDreams: Shortly after witnessing a vision of his parents, Zelda appears to Link in the desert, causing him to brush it off as another mirage. Zelda claims that they are in a dream, for if two people dream the same thing, they will run into each other.* TickingClock: In Chapter 5, Link decides to lie down and rest for a bit, only to be woken up by Zelda, who reminds him that he only has until sundown before Agahnim casts his final incantation on her.* WalkingDisasterArea: Link.* WeirdMoon: A full moon hovers over Hyrule, counting down the nights until Agahnim's ritual. In the Dark World, the moon sports a [[BadMoonRising skull face]].* WomanInWhite: Zelda on horseback in the epilogue.* YouKilledMyFather: Link's uncle.-->'''Agahnim:''' Not so long ago, another foolish warrior [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied lost his life]] [[ShutUpKirk spouting similar nonsense]]!----